64 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

I grabbed this book in an airport on the way to somewhere a couple of decades ago. I had never read Conroy at that point, and what a find it was! I'd read a few pages, then pause and say, "This guy can really write!" It ended up being one of my all-time favorite books. I have reread it a number of times. It deals with some painful issues, including child abuse, but is written from the point of view of innocence.

Pat Conroy is one of the finest writers of the last 60 years. Similiar themes run throughout some of this novels. Others are vastly. But all draw on his native North Carolina, it's Low Country, and the people there.

This is undoubtedly his most accomplished work (maybe Lords of Discipline gives this one a run for its money). A unusual, gifted mother, an absent and abusive father, a suicidal sister and older brother make up the family.

While attending to his hospitalized sister in NY, our hero begins meeting with her therapist, ostensibly to provide family background. In the process, a hideous family secret comes to the fore. But this is not a mystery, nor a blood-sucking novel. It's the journey of a close family through perilous times - and the journey of a deeply troubled man.

The story aside, Conroy's writing will lift you from your chair and softly deposit you on the gentle shores of the marshes. His prose awakens your nose to the smells of bogs and rotting fishheads. The stars in the sky are no longer specks of light; we pulse with them and wink mischievously at dolphins and humans.

THIS is the book to order if you want to be carried away on the words of a gifted writer. (Except for the plot summary, this review covers all his writings.)

An outstanding novel by a truly gifted writer. One my favorite novels of all time. It's the kind of book you recommend to friends, even those who don't read. It is much better and deeper than the movie. Pat Conroy at times would include Mark Twain-like situations that are very funny.

Read the first two sentences: "My wound is geography. It is also my anchorage, my port of call." Conroy was a terrific word smith. This is a book you will want to savor like fine wine.

This is a very detailed book. The plot is well known because of the movie, but the book is soooo much better. There is just a lot that you can't portray in a movie that is really important to the point of the story.

A must read for Conroy fans. More subtle than Lords of Discipline and the Great Santinin in its layers of meaning. Fast paced. Great film version also available starring Nick Nolte and Barbra Streisand. Just forgive Streisand the manicure.

This is one of my favorite books. I'm only posting it because I own two copies. Conroy writes beautifully. There were times I had to stop reading for a while, to savor a particularly poignant passage. This is a literary classic - I expect that it will still be read and enjoyed 100 years from now. I hated to have it end.

I firt became acquainted with Pat Conroy,s books a long time ago and have always enjoyed his use of the English language, his descriptive narrative and pinache. Recently I decided to read any of his books I may have missed. When I saw, on this site, the titles of all his books, I immediately went to the local library, and sure enough they had a copy, but only to sell. Most of the libraries in Pa. do not keep paperbacks on their shelves, unfortunately. Long story short, this is one of his best. It,s hard to say that, since there are just no disappointments when reading any of Pat Conroy,s books. Conflicted family, love, betrayal, all of that is in this book and more. I loved it. GinaK

As always, Conroy creates a book I couldn't put down. This one takes the reader through a wide range of situations and emotions, all written in a spell-binding manner. And, it's one of those books where the movie made from it is also excellent. Read first, then see the movie. Enjoy!

ISBN 0553268880 - After years of reading predominantly great reviews of this book, I finally read it, only to wonder why everyone was raving. Perhaps Pat Conroy explained it himself, when he wrote "Savannah's living proof that writing poetry and reading books causes brain damage." I found myself skipping entire pages of pointless description and only skimming the entire "children's book" written by Savannah.

Most of the momentous events of the story require the reader to accept the most unbelievable things (Bengal tiger...) as facts of life for the Wingos, but the children's book crosses a line; this book within the book is only horrific in that it's a book no publisher would have published because it's a book that no parent would ever have let their child read.

Throughout the real book, beginning with Tom's reference to his daughters' "lovely, perfectly shaped behinds" to the children's book and all the way to the end, there's a tinge of incest and inappropriate sex to everything that leaves me needing a shower. I'm giving the book 2 stars because I think the story, buried under way too many words, is an interesting one - it's just too hard to find most of the time.

Pat Conroy is one of my favorite authors and this is his best book. His prose caressed my mind and the story kept me riveted -- I was so sorry when it ended, but I look forward to reading it again soon, this time traveling a little slower through it so as to appreciate the beautiful language even more. My very highest recommendation!

Pat Conroy writes about dysfunctional families, usually a hard drinking abusive father, long suffering mother, picked on/abused oldest son, and so on. The characters are entirely believable and likeable too but what happens to them is really chilling and disturbing.

In my opinion, this is Pat Conroy's best book. The writing is gorgeous and the story is captivating. You will fall in love with the South Carolina low country as if it were another character in the book.

The story is wonderful - one of my all time favorites-
In order to aid a psychiatrist who is treating his psychotic sister, Tom Wingo arrives in Manhattan and describes figures from his youth, among them an abusive father, a mother obsessed with being accepted by Colleton's tawdry elite, eccentric grandparents, stolid brother Luke, and sensitive, poet-sister Savannah. Despite the book's length, scenes such as Grandmother Tolitha's visit to Ogletree's funeral home to try out coffins, Grandfather's yearly re-enactment of the stations of the Cross, Mrs. Wingo's passive-aggressive retaliation by serving her husband dog food, Luke's Rambo-like attempt to keep Colleton from becoming a nuclear plant site, and a bloody football game with the team's first black player deserve students' attention. While Conroy's skills at characterization and storytelling have made the book popular, his writing style may place it among modern classics. He adds enough detail so that readers can smell the salty low-country marsh, see the regal porpoise Snow against the dark ocean, and taste Mrs. Wingo's gourmet cooking and doctored dog food. The story is wholly Tom's; Conroy resists the temptation to include the vantage points of other characters. It is the reluctance of Tom to tell all, to recount rather than recreate his family's past, and to face up to the Wingos' mutual rejections that maintain the tension just below the story's surface. It is Tom's coming clean about his past that lays bare the truth and elevates Prince of Tides above a scintillating best seller. Alice Conlon, Univ . of Houston

There were passages in which the writing was so stunningly beautiful that I had to close the book for a while, to savor the sentences I'd just read... I believe that 100 years from now, this will be considered a classic of late 20th Century literature.

Wow, I loved it. Mrs. Conroy is a pretty lucky woman to have a husband with such a gift for the written word. I loved the characters and their inner conflicts about their childhood, and past issues. Some of their past was terrible, but also peppered with wonderful things. I recomend it to anyone who loves the south...

For sheer storytelling finesse, Conroy will have few rivals this season. His fourth novel is a seductive narrative, told with bravado flourishes, portentous foreshadowing, sardonic humor and eloquent turns of phrase. Like The Great Santini, it is the story of a destructive family relationship wherein a violent father abuses his wife and children. Henry Wingo is a shrimper who fishes the seas off the South Carolina coast and regularly squanders what little money he amasses in farcical business schemes; his beautiful wife, Lila, is both his victim and a manipulative and guilt-inflicting mother. The story is narrated by one of the children, Tom Wingo, a former high school teacher and coach, now out of work after a nervous breakdown. Tom alternately recalls his growing-up years on isolated Melrose Island, then switches to the present in Manhattan, where his twin sister and renowned poet, Savannah, is recovering from a suicide attempt. One secret at the heart of this tale is the fate of their older brother Luke; we know he is dead, but the circumstances are slowly revealed. Also kept veiled is "what happened on the island that day"a grisly scene of horror, rape and carnage that eventually explains much of the sorrow, pain and emotional alienation endured by the Wingo siblings. Conroy deftly manages a large cast of characters and a convoluted plot, although he dangerously undermines credibility through a device by which Tom tells the Wingo family saga to Savannah's psychiatrist. Some readers may find here a pale replica of Robert Penn Warren's powerful evocation of the Southern myth; others may see resemblances to John Irving's baroque imaginings. Most, however, will be swept along by Conroy's felicitous, often poetic prose, his ironic comments on the nature of man and society, his passion for the marshland country of the South and his skill with narrative. 250,000 first printing; $250,000 ad/promo; movie rights to United Artists; BOMC main selection; author tour.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition

Pat Conroy is such an artist with the English language. This is a book that you will love. It is filled with a very dysfunctional family, which will cause you to laugh and cringe, to feel their pain and to understand their survival techniques.

Since I loved the movie so much, I could hardly imagine that the book could be any better, but it truly was MUCH more powerful, descriptive and vivid than the movie. Faulted, but powerful characters, beautiful writing and wildly dysfunctional scenes and situations make for a truly mesmerizing story. Wholeheartedly recommend this book.

I have posted this book with the exact ISBN number listed above (0-395-35300-9), and it is a larger paperback (6" wide and 9" tall) and is not a hardback as the PaperbackSwap.com system shows it. The artwork on the cover of this paperback is identical to that shown above.

From Publishers Weekly
For sheer storytelling finesse, Conroy will have few rivals this season. His fourth novel is a seductive narrative, told with bravado flourishes, portentous foreshadowing, sardonic humor and eloquent turns of phrase. Like The Great Santini, it is the story of a destructive family relationship wherein a violent father abuses his wife and children. Henry Wingo is a shrimper who fishes the seas off the South Carolina coast and regularly squanders what little money he amasses in farcical business schemes; his beautiful wife, Lila, is both his victim and a manipulative and guilt-inflicting mother. The story is narrated by one of the children, Tom Wingo, a former high school teacher and coach, now out of work after a nervous breakdown. Tom alternately recalls his growing-up years on isolated Melrose Island, then switches to the present in Manhattan, where his twin sister and renowned poet, Savannah, is recovering from a suicide attempt. One secret at the heart of this tale is the fate of their older brother Luke; we know he is dead, but the circumstances are slowly revealed. Also kept veiled is \"what happened on the island that day\"a grisly scene of horror, rape and carnage that eventually explains much of the sorrow, pain and emotional alienation endured by the Wingo siblings. Conroy deftly manages a large cast of characters and a convoluted plot, although he dangerously undermines credibility through a device by which Tom tells the Wingo family saga to Savannah\'s psychiatrist. Some readers may find here a pale replica of Robert Penn Warren\'s powerful evocation of the Southern myth; others may see resemblances to John Irving\'s baroque imaginings. Most, however, will be swept along by Conroy\'s felicitous, often poetic prose, his ironic comments on the nature of man and society, his passion for the marshland country of the South and his skill with narrative.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE--
Pat Conroy has created a huge, brash, thunderstorm of novel, stinging with honesty and resounding with drama. Spanning forty years, this is the story of turbulent Tom Wingo, his gifted and troubled twin sister Savannah, and the dark and violent past of the extraordinary family into which they were born.

Pat Conroy has created a huge, brash, thunderstorm of a novel, stinging with honesty and resounding with drama. Spanning forty years, this is the story of turbulent Tom Wingo, his gifted and troubled twin sister Savannah, and the dark and violent past of the extraordinary family into which they were born.